Nominee Trump and wife dodge plagiarism charge

The flap led one Democratic Party partisan to quip, “So now we know who Melania Trump wants to be when she grows up: Michelle Obama.”

Even as reality TV star and part-time Palm Beach resident Donald Trump was clinching the Republican Party nomination Tuesday night, the campaign was still battling accusations that his wife had stolen lines from a 2008 address by first lady Obama for her own speech that had kicked off the Republican Party convention the previous night in Cleveland.

By Wednesday, longtime Trump family friend and speechwriter Meredith McIver was accepting blame, calling it an innocent mistake, with Trump saying she would not be fired.

After a harsh primary, Trump’s general election campaign officially opened with a warm and personal validation from his wife, who kicked off the convention by assuring voters that the brash candidate has the character and determination to unite a divided nation.

“If you want someone to fight for you and your country, I can assure you, he is the guy,” Mrs. Trump told delegates in her highest profile appearance of the presidential campaign.